mellowtigger | Entries tagged with gripe

I'm not in the best mood today. Let's blame it partially on the monkeypox vaccine 2nd dose and feeling "not my best" again, like last time. I'm checking out of civilization for the rest of today, I think. Sit under an electric blanket and read and eat and otherwise just be a bum.

On my trip to Aldi's grocery today, the hot sauce section of the shelf was empty. *sigh* First time I've ever seen that, I think. But they had eggs this time.
Someone famous has commented on the skyrocketing price of lettuce. Raw food is expensive now, and prepared food is outrageously expensive.
Home Depot's co-founder is on my naughty list again after blaming socialism for making people not want to work. At wages that won't pay rent and barely buys food, while corporate profits soar, maybe has something to do with it? Bring on the socialism, please.
The IRS audited poor taxpayers in 2022 while ignoring rich ones. *grrrrr*
USA police set a new record in 2022 for killing our own citizens, since records began in 2013.
Minneapolis police seized 31 guns after what started as a traffic stop. In 2022, they removed about 1,100 guns from city streets. That's some useful progress, I guess.
My Jordan neighborhood ranks only 7th in areas of Minneapolis measured by violent crimes per capita. For once, I also have data that says other areas are worse than Minneapolis. Search this blog for "The worst contiguous", and see the chart that places a Minneapolis area (not even mine) as 3rd of the worst so far analyzed.

So... bad mood. It's bad here, but there are worse places to be. I want to see a comparison of wealth inequality now in 2023 with that of other periods of world history when the peasants killed their economic overlords in desperation and outrage. It was bad before, and I'm sure it's worse now.

I'm tired of human civilization. The status quo is awful. I want to start over with new rules.

The more I've learned about SARS-CoV-2 studies (it's worse than even my own pet theory), the more I wish I could quit my current job immediately. I don't want to be an "essential worker" with office exposures. I want to be 100% remote. But... that's not happening.

I also want to stay at my home here in the warzone, but the only "way out" right now seems to be to sell my house when the weather finally warms in March or April. I want to stay, but something's got to change. The social safety net in Minnesota leaves a lot to be desired, but it's still better than most places in the USA, so I don't want to leave Minnesota either.

I'm full of frustrations at the moment.

I can't get a dental appointment. I've been calling off-and-on since January. When I go to the Aetna website to find dentists that are "in network" for my insurance provider, they show me a list of only 50 names based on my address, I think. The problem is that those 50 slots are all taken up by 2 addresses, large clinics with lots of dentists who are authorized to work there. I can't get an appointment at either location. Just now, I was on the phone on hold for 25 minutes at one of them (again) when the line dropped. The hold music was playing, and the call just dropped.

I tried clicking the button on the website to download the list of providers from Aetna, but I just got the same list of 50 dentists at 2 addresses. :(

In addition, I saw a long thread on Twitter today that finally explains why I got that mystery bill from the anesthesiologist when I had sinus surgery.

How can a hospital covered by your insurer hit you - and not your insurer - with a bill? Simple. A private equity company has convinced each of the medical professionals you interact with to secede from the hospital's payroll and form an LLC.
- https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1410974464666308609

It's ridiculous. Many civilized nations have some form of single payer system (not the same as socialized medicine). We could eliminate so very much waste if we disconnected our various healthcare payment plans from employers who have to negotiate these plans for us. Imagine how much time, effort, and cost would be removed from the shoulders of employers themselves if we had a unified national system.

And I keep getting hit with bills from the physical therapy sessions early in the year. Over and over again. I think I'm paying $1K from my own pocket for just a few hours of training. I still had to buy my own exercise straps and equipment too.

Why does anyone fight so hard to maintain the current system of gross inefficiency instead of changing?

I got home from work today, picked up the mail at my front door, and opened up the Minneapolis Assessor's Office letter. This coming year, they will increase the estimated value of my property by 19.7%. Minus my homestead exemption, that's an increase of 33% of "taxable market value" from the previous year.

Such a rapid increase sounds like robbery. It sounds illegal. Near as I can tell from this document (page 11), however, it sounds like Minnesota has the worst laws in the USA on this issue, and maybe they increased the cost by the maximum allowed by law.

Does anyone know a tax lawyer? I want to contest this valuation, if it's reasonable to do so.

I also went looking online for help, only to discover instead WHY this is happening. Because the original light rail plan failed, the new proposals all surround my area. Look at those green and orange segments. They surround my Jordan neighborhood. I will live about 4 blocks from a light rail path, no matter which choice wins. No wonder I've been flooded with offers to buy my house. No wonder the city is trying to jack up the price of living here.

If I don't get priced out due to property taxes, I just hit the jackpot. This house was never meant as a financial investment. It was always a "live here in peace until I die" choice for me. I intend to make bayberry candles for Christmas one of these years, from bayberry seedlings that I planted in my back yard years ago. I do not want to move. This is my home.

A nearby light rail station (not part of planning yet) would be immensely useful, since I already intend to ditch my car soon and live with public transit. Light rail is a very nice public transit option. Gentrification is still frustrating, though. I might be too poor to endure the inevitable demographic shift. I may end up leaving with all of the other poor people, because the taxes eventually make it too unaffordable.

I had a discussion a while back (February seems like so many years ago!) with

mllesatine and

foeclan about tax complications here in the USA.

A few days ago, this topic was featured on "Patriot Act" on Netflix.

Watch on YouTube

It's... a pretty good overview. And so very sad.

It sure looks to me like the forces of sadopopulism (with the need to keep government for the masses as ineffective as possible) and plutocracy (with need to keep government funneling wealth from the masses to the already wealthy) are both involved here.

the mellow tigger's musings

Entries tagged with gripe

Moody Monday: yep, it's a mood

still no new job yet

the wonders of American healthcare

+33% taxable market value

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May 2025

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